Sudan security confiscates El Midan paper, eighth time this month

El Midan newspaper was confiscated again on Thursday, without any reason given by the security authorities. This is the eight time this month. El Midan had organised a speech festival at its head office, aimed against the security's control over newspapers.

The festival this week was attended by journalists, lawyers, and representatives of political parties. Sulaiman Hamid, a member of the leadership of the Sudanese Communist Party, spoke at the festival about the violations against the freedom of expression. The governmental practices reveal the falsehood of the National Dialogue, he said.

These violations by the government “are beyond imagination”, the chairman of the Sudanese Organisation for Defending Rights and Freedoms, Farouq Mohamed Ibrahim, said. He added that change requires grass-root acts at the level of the residential districts. The representative of the National Consensus Forces, an alliance of opposition parties, expressed solidarity with El Midan newspaper. Mohamed Dia El Din further described its confiscation as “an attempt to silence the voice of right”.

Media freedoms have witnessed serious deteriorations for many years in Sudan. Within the last year, the security services confiscated about 50 copies of various newspapers, without judicial orders. The security services mostly confiscate newspapers without providing any justifications or caring for the financial losses. The security services impose strict monitoring on newspapers and media, confiscate newspapers, detain journalists, ban some from writing and file abusive complaints against them.